The Zambian government says it welcomes the outcome of the London High Court judgement in which ex-president Frederick Chiluba was found guilty of looting public funds amounting to US$46 million during his 10-year rule.
The UK High Court will soon deposit its judgment with its Zambian counterpart so that if Chiluba does not comply with the judgement, he is cited for contempt of court whose penalty could be imprisonment.
At a press conference an immaculately dressed Chiluba, his equally dazzlingly dressed wife Regina next to him, said he did not steal any of the total $46 million that the judge determined had been stolen from the National Treasury by him and his associates during his decade-long rule in Zambia.
"I am told I am liable to pay a total sum of $41 million because of my (statutory) duty. This is legally untenable . . . and Justice Peter Smith's judgment borders on racism," Chiluba said.
Referring to his successor Levy Mwanawasa, he said: "This judgment was engineered by the Mwanawasa government and consented to by the British government. It was predetermined by Tony Blair's government in collusion with the Zambian government in order to crucify me (and) it's all trash."
Chiluba said part of the money was used on security operations by Zambian intelligence.
"I can't go into detail on security operations which were carried out by the Zambian Intelligence (and) Judge Smith can't determine for Zambia our security matters," he said.
In a 220-page judgment last Friday by Justice Smith, Chiluba was given two weeks in which to pay back 80 percent of the loot.
Chief government spokesman Mike Mulongoti who is also Information and Broadcasting minister told The Southern Times that lawyers representing Zambia in the London court would soon register the judgment with the High Court in Lusaka which in turn will execute it.
"It is the Zambia government that took the matter to court so we welcome the judgement as a victory on our part. The Zambian High Court and the High Court in London respect each other's decisions. All it requires is the London Court to register the judgement with the High Court in Lusaka and our lawyers in London will be doing that soon," said Mulongoti adding: "If he (Chiluba) does not comply he will be dealt with accordingly, no one is above the law."
Though the London court case was a civil one if Chiluba fails to comply, it can turn criminal through contempt. He also risks losing his property.
Asked whether government knows how much property Chiluba has, Mulongoti said he did not know.
And while some non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have welcomed the verdict, others argue that Justice Smith should not have been the one to determine what Chiluba and his colleagues were to pay the Zambian people.
"The judgment betrayed us on the issue that Chiluba should reimburse 8O per cent instead of the 100 per cent that Zambians demanding," says Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (ECZ) executive director Paul Mususu.
Women for change (WFC) executive director Emily Sikazwe says Chiluba should not be shown any mercy.
"He should not receive any more pension and they should stop building his house. The pension and money used to build his house should be used to build rural hospitals and upgrade the equipment at UTH. Now that the London Court has found him guilty of stealing, no one should give him protection."
Transparency International- Zambia says the judgment should serve as an example to the government and other African countries on the need to review the accountability system and seal the loopholes which may exist.
"The verdict should serve as an example to other leaders. We need other countries to look at this case critically and learn from it. The colossal money itemised in the judgment could have been used to develop areas of the economy," said TIZ president Reuben Lifuka.
Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) said: "Nothing will stop the enforcement of a foreign judgement because of the reciprocal agreement that exists between Zambia and Britain. It will be possible to register it in Zambia and then enforce it. There are about 19 defendants where nine of them are in Zambia while others are in UK or Belgium, it will therefore be easy to enforce the judgment since it was obtained in Europe," explained LAZ president Steven Lungu.
According to press reports in the UK Chiluba colluded with some prominent law firms in London in swindling the country he led from 1991 till 2001.
According to the Guardian the two London law firms, include one run by Nelson Mandela's personal UK lawyer.
Both firms are under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and the City of London police for handling the proceeds of crime. The investigation has been dubbed as the flagship corruption case for sub-Saharan Africa.
In a damning judgment Justice Smith accused Chiluba of shamelessly defrauding his people and flaunting his wealth with an expensive wardrobe of "stupendous proportions".
The judge singled out as "the most telling example of corruption" his $500,000 purchase of hundreds of suits and monogrammed shirts from an exclusive boutique in Switzerland, as well as 72 pairs of handmade, high heel shoes to extend his 5ft stature.
"This was at a time when the vast majority of Zambians were struggling to live on $1 a day and many could not afford more than one meal a day. The people of Zambia should know that whenever he appears in public wearing some of these clothes he acquired them with money stolen from them."
Zambia's victory, however, may still be undermined.
Two years ago Chiluba walked into a tin-roofed court in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, accused of fraudulently diverting large sums of his government's money.
He had sat in the defendant's box in a dazzlingly sharp suit, as if exhibiting evidence of his shopping trips to Geneva to a packed public gallery.
Chiluba remains on trial in Zambia on a reduced list of theft charges, although proceedings have halted while he seeks medical treatment, mostly in South Africa, for his malfunctioning heart.
